East Africa: EAC Most Integrated Bloc in Africa

By Edward Qorro in Arusha

THE East African Community (EAC) has been rated as the most integrated bloc among the eight Regional Economic Communities in Africa.

The Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII 2019) gave the EAC an overall score of 0.537, noting

that it had excelled in free movement of people dimension.

Whereas no EAC member had put in place a bilateral investment treaty in force, the index notes that the Rwandan franc was the region's top performer in the macroeconomic integration dimension with a 0.991 score whilst Tanzania had the community's best inflation differential registering a score of 0.833.

The Index however points out that, EAC countries performed dismally on the productive dimension, where all the six countries posted an average score of 0.434.

It further notes that with an average regional integration score of 0.327, African countries as a whole are not well integrated.

The high score of 0.625, reached by South Africa, suggests that all of Africa's countries have the potential to integrate more deeply.

The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), followed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), achieves the best balance between dimensions, according to the Index.

"The greatest differences between dimensions appear in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), whose scores range from 0.733 on the free movement of people dimension to 0.220 on the productive dimension," it suggested.

According to the report, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) remains the least integrated bloc on the continent, scoring 0.337.

SADC's scores are most pulled down by gaps in regional infrastructure, says the report.

Published by the African Union, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank, the report shows low levels of integration on the continent, at an average index score of 0.327 out of 1.

It uses 16 indicators, grouped into five dimensions, to measure how well each country and region is integrated with its neighbours which are free movement of people, trade integration, productive integration, infrastructural integration and macroeconomic integration.

The 2019 Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII) assesses the regional integration status and efforts of countries that are members of the eight regional economic communities recognised by the African Union.

It compares each country to the other countries in its regional economic community and to the countries of Africa as a whole.

It builds on the 2016 ARII and addresses some of its limitations.

The most significant change is that the 2019 ARII ranks African countries not only within their regional economic community, but also within Africa.

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.